The Japanese strategic investor and the biggest shareholder in Flipkart is holding out of the deal as it seeks a better price

Walmart has come close to buying at least 55 per cent stakes in Flipkart. The key shareholders of the homegrown e-commerce giant have come aboard to sell their holding stakes, except SoftBank. The Japanese strategic investor and the biggest shareholder in Flipkart is holding out of the deal as it seeks a better price.

Investors in the Bengaluru-based company, including New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management, South African media conglomerate Naspers, venture capital firm Accel and China’s Tencent Holdings, have agreed to sell their stakes to Walmart. Along with them, Flipkart founders — Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal — may also sell a portion of their stakes in the company, reported The Economic Times citing its sources. These investors together hold 55 per cent of the company’s stake.

However, it is yet to reach an agreement with Flipkart’s biggest investor — SoftBank — that holds 20 per cent of its overall stakes. The Tokyo-headquartered investor had invested USD 2.5 billion in the shopping portal in August last year through its USD 100 billion Vision Fund. It has been offered to sell its shares in USD 10-12 billion, but the company is seeking a better price, estimated at USD 15-17 billion, through a secondary sale of shares, said people aware of the development in talks with the publication.

Although the deal with SoftBank is yet to finalise, Walmart would be close to half of the ownership if it acquires the stakes of the investors it has finalised agreements with, said the report.